TIL that you do indeed own the airspace above your property

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Eh, for a different perspective, I live on a property that has one. I used to say that I'd never do it, but the property that I wanted had an existing HOA, and I decided I'd rather buy that property than look elsewhere.

The area governed by the association is one street. Maybe 25 properties? One house per property. You can build, like, a shed on your property, but you can't build another house (in addition to the HOA, the city has regulations; these are roughly 1/2 acre properties). The people in the association are my neighbors. I see them at barbeques, and once a quarter we have a meeting. If someone wants to make a change that is visible basically from the street, they have to approve that change via a majority vote of the others (at said meeting). I haven't lived here that long, but I am told by older folks that in 25 years only one request has been denied. That said, for the example of painting your house pink -- yeah you probably can't.

Long term, I'd rather live in a freer place, but I'm not going to live here forever, so this is a good deal. In particular, when I sell it's likely the property value will not be negatively impacted by other people. Given that I live in a suburb of a large city, there's a limited amount of freedom to be had, anyways.

Renting? I guess. Financially, it's ownership. From a freedom perspective, you have a lot more than a renter but less than a, umm, freeholder.

One expense is that we own the road that goes between our houses and some of the surrounding property (including landscaping) that is held in common. When there are costs associated with the road, we have to share them equally. The city doesn't pay for that particular road, and we have to share the cost of maintaining the surrounding landscaping. This cost is miniscule compared to the egregious taxes leveled by the city, county, and state, so it's kind of like a tiny tax.

It's worth noting that whether or not you have an HOA, many cities have equally stringent regulations as far as maintaining your property and telling you what you can't do with it. More rural areas tend to have fewer. The difference is if you get in an argument with the city you're fighting the government. There was just a story on the news about San Francisco, and a guy with 6 figure fines for parking cars on his property, which a court ruled was just. Freedom comes from lack of other people and distance from them. If they are close by they will find a way to be up in your shit.

Eh, for a different perspective, I live on a property that has one. I used to say that I'd never do it, but the property that I wanted had an existing HOA, and I decided I'd rather buy that property than look elsewhere. The area governed by the association is one street. Maybe 25 properties? One house per property. You can build, like, a shed on your property, but you can't build another house (in addition to the HOA, the city has regulations; these are roughly 1/2 acre properties). The people in the association are my neighbors. I see them at barbeques, and once a quarter we have a meeting. If someone wants to make a change that is visible basically from the street, they have to approve that change via a majority vote of the others (at said meeting). I haven't lived here that long, but I am told by older folks that in 25 years only one request has been denied. That said, for the example of painting your house pink -- yeah you probably can't. Long term, I'd rather live in a freer place, but I'm not going to live here forever, so this is a good deal. In particular, when I sell it's likely the property value will not be negatively impacted by other people. Given that I live in a suburb of a large city, there's a limited amount of freedom to be had, anyways. Renting? I guess. Financially, it's ownership. From a freedom perspective, you have a lot more than a renter but less than a, umm, freeholder. One expense is that we own the road that goes between our houses and some of the surrounding property (including landscaping) that is held in common. When there are costs associated with the road, we have to share them equally. The city doesn't pay for that particular road, and we have to share the cost of maintaining the surrounding landscaping. This cost is miniscule compared to the egregious taxes leveled by the city, county, and state, so it's kind of like a tiny tax. It's worth noting that whether or not you have an HOA, many cities have equally stringent regulations as far as maintaining your property and telling you what you can't do with it. More rural areas tend to have fewer. The difference is if you get in an argument with the city you're fighting the government. There was just a story on the news about San Francisco, and a guy with 6 figure fines for parking cars on his property, which a court ruled was just. Freedom comes from lack of other people and distance from them. If they are close by they will find a way to be up in your shit.

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